A very full account of the beginnings of the new London Bridge in 1825 and the concomitant ceremonies and celebrations.
“We last week briefly noticed the ceremony of laying the first stones of the new bridge over the Thames; but as this is one of those public occurrences which may never be considered an event in a man’s life, and an epoch in a city’s history – a sort of station in our worldly journey, from which we measure our distances and dates, – the following further particulars cannot prove uninteresting. To witness the manner and the moment in which is laid down the first single resting-stone of a grand national structure – the very origin of the existence of a massive and magnificent pile, which will require years to complete and ages to destroy, has an elevating and sublime effect on the mind.
Old London Bridge, for which the new one is intended as a more commodious substitute, was the first that connect the Surrey and Middlesex banks. It was built originally of wood, about 800 years ago, and rebuilt of stone in the reign of King John (1209), just two years after the chief civic officer assumed the title of Mayor. Until the middle of the last century, it was crowded with houses. The narrowness and inequality of its arches have caused it to be compared to ‘a thick wall, pierced with small uneven holes, through which the ware, dammed up by this clumsy fabric, rushes, or rather leaps, with a velocity extremely dangerous to boats and barges.’ Of its nineteen arches, none except the centre which was formed by throwing two into one, was more than 20 feet wide – the width of each of the piers of Waterloo Bridge. It has been calculated, that there daily pass over London Bridge, 90,000 foot passengers, 800 wagons, 300 carts and drays, 1300 coached, 500 gigs and taxed carts, and 800 saddle horses.
The present bridge, having been for some years considered destitute of the proper facilities of transition for passengers as well as for vessels, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1823 for building a new one, on a scale and plan equal to the other modern improvements of the metropolis. The first pile pf the works was driven on the west side of the present bridge in March, 1824, and the first coffer dam having been lately finished, the ceremony was fixed for the 15th inst. An opening had been made in the balustrade of London Bridge, and a descent of several steps, covered with scarlet baize, led into the awnings, and the boats were prevented from approaching adjoining piers. The interior of the area was fenced by a triple bulwark of planks and earth, and substantially secured by strong timbers. Three galleries were constructed, and in the lowest (which was 40 feet below high-water mark) the block was laid ready for embedding. The necessary arrangements being completed, the procession moved from Guildhall (preceded by a body of the artillery company), consisting of all the officers of the Corporation, the Recorder, Aldermen, Sheriffs, Members of Parliament, &c., and arrived the plaform at twenty minutes past four – the Lady Mayoress and all the company admittedby tickets having previously arrived,, The Duke of York’s carriage immediately proeceded that of the Lord Mayor; but his Royal Highness sat in the city stage coach on the right of the Lord Mayor. A chair of state was provided, but his Royal Highness declined accepting the seat, and continued standing during the ceremony. The silver gilt trowel was then given to the Lord Mayor, who briefly addresssed the assembly, congratulating the City of London on having undertaken this great work at a period so auspicious, and making some complimentary allusions to his Royal Highness the Duke of York, and to the architect and engineer. The different coins of the present reign were then put in a cut glass bottle by the Lord Mayor, and with an engraved plate haing a Latin Inscription, were deposited by his Lordship under the stone, which being moved into its place by a pulley under and levers, and mallet, according to the usual mechanical forms, and the foundation of the new bridge was then (five o’clock) declared to be laid. ‘God save the King’ was sung, and with three-times-three cheers and ceremony ended. The procession then returned to the Mansion-house, where a sumptuous dinner was served up on the occasion in the Egyptian-hall, to 370 visitors, and in the saloon to 200 of the Artillery Company. The Duke of York was enthusiastically cheered, both on going and returning. His Royal Highness dd not dine with the Lord Mayor, being obliged to attend a dinner given by his Majesty. The Bishop of Chester, Lord Darnley, Mr. Wyn, Sir George Cockburn, Sir Isaac Coffin, Sir George Warrender, Sir Robert Wildon, and many fashionable and elegantly-dressed ladies accompanied the procession, and afterwards partook of his Lordship’s hospitality.
The stone used on this occasion was a mass of Aberdeen granite, weighing nearly five tones, and the foundation of the pier rests on piles driven 20 feet into the bed of the river: upon there is a layer of timber two feet thick, over which a course of brickwork and another of stone, each two feet six inches deep, formed the floor. In the centre of the pier (which is 40 feet by 90), a rectangular space was excavated to the depth of seven inches, 21 in length, and 15 in width. – The Latin inscription on the plate is from the pen of that elegant classic scholar, the Rev. Dr. Copelstone, of Oriel college, Oxford: the following is a translation :-
‘The free course of the river being obstructed by the numerous piers of the ancient bridge, and the passage of boats and vessels through its narrow channels being often attended with danger and loss of life by reason of the force and rapidity of the current, the City of London, desirous of providing a remedy for this evil, and at the same time consulting the convenience of commerce in this vast emporium of all nations, under the sanction and with the liberal aid of Parliament, resolved to erect a Bridge upon a foundation altogether new, with arches of wider span, and a character corresponding to the dignity and importance of this royal city: not does any other time seam to be more suitable for such an undertaking, than when, in a period of universal peace, the British Empire, flourishing in glory, wealth, population, and domestic union, is governed by a Prince, the patron and encourager of the arts in elegance and splendour.
‘The first stone of his work was laid by John Garratt, Esquire, Lord Mayor, on the 15th day of June, in the 6th year of the King George the Fourth, and in the year of our Lord 1825. John Rennie, F.R.S., architect.’
The Lord Mayor performed all the fatiguing honors of the day with the greatest spirit. – The expense attending this magnificent display, is said to exceed 2000l, which his Lordship defrays out of his own purse.”
The Stamford Mercury, 24th June, 1825.